GOYA – Visions of Flesh and Blood (2016)

by | Aug 16, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Nothing to do with music, but a fascinating view of the father of modern art.

GOYA – Visions of Flesh and Blood (2016)

From the National Gallery, London
Director: David Bickerstaff
Producer: Phil Grabsky
Studio: Seventh Art Prod. SEV190 [7/8/16] (Dist. by Naxos)
Video: 1.78:1 for 16:9 screens, color
Audio: English PCM stereo
Subtitles: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, Italian
All Regions
Length: 96 min.
Rating: *****

This is perhaps a better introduction to the great painter than a visit to to the exhibition of his work at the National Gallery in London. It uses a fresh biography, excerpts from his letters, and stunning local scenery as well as behind the scenes at the Gallery. Francisco Goya was a really brilliant observer of everyday life and of the troubled times in Spain. His gifts as a portrait painter extended to his getting a true feeling for person he was painting and especially with their eyes showing your way into their very soul – which other portrait painters failed to capture. He had a highly modern approach to the capture of subtle expressions and gestures, and occasionally painted himself as a minor figure in the back of many of his paintings, as Hitchcock did later in his films.

The film provides an exploration of Goya’s greatest work, and creates a fascinating portrait of the painter and his most colorful world. He never gave up his most truthful approach to the depiction of his subjects, whether they were the royalty, aristocrats or politicians who hired him. Late in life he depicted some of the horrors of war in his so-called “Black” series. The extreme closeups of many of his paintings as well as the superb guitar music on the soundtrack contribute to the excellence of the presentation. One would never know it was not a Blu-ray but just a DVD.

—John Sunier

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